JALALABAD, Afghanistan — Scores of disabled people, several of them amputees, gathered outside a Red Cross office in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday to protest against militants who attacked the building four days ago. A two-hour gun and suicide assault in Jalalabad city on Wednesday left one Afghan guard dead in the first attack on a Red Cross facility in the country since the organization began work there 26 years ago. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) assists thousands of disabled people across Afghanistan, and is renowned for its programs providing artificial limbs and rehabilitation for victims of war and landmines. “Death to the perpetrators of this inhuman and evil attack,” the protesters, many in wheelchairs or using crutches, chanted outside the office, which has been closed due to the attack. The ICRC, which had 36 staff in Jalalabad including six expatriates, has also halted all staff movements at its clinics and offices around the country. The group maintains strict neutrality in the Afghan conflict and was thought to be protected from attack by its working relations with the Taliban and other insurgent groups. “We have enormous problems. The ICRC has been the only one helping us,” said Ferdous, an amputee who uses only one name. “We call on the government to protect the ICRC.” Taliban leaders on Friday denied any involvement in the attack. Afghan Taliban kill 4 police in checkpoint attacks An official in eastern Afghanistan says Taliban insurgents attacked two checkpoints, killing four police officers in the latest test of Afghan forces' abilities as their NATO mentors withdraw. Mohammad Zahir Bahand, spokesman for Nuristan province, said Sunday that the fighting in Kamdesh district began overnight with attacks on checkpoints manned by national police and border police. The firefight, which left 13 militants dead, lasted hours and ended after reinforcements from the provincial capital, Paron, drove the Taliban away. He said four police were also wounded. Insurgents have been attacking government installations around the country, testing Afghan forces who are now fighting almost completely on their own. The US-led military coalition ends its mission next year. — Agencies
